Lem’s latest: Algieri-Provodnikov II or Pacquiao-Algieri?

Chris Algieri's promoter, Joe DeGuardia, of Star Boxing, informed RingTV.com on Tuesday that he has begun preliminary discussions with Top Rank regarding a potential bout with Manny Pacquiao.

At the same time, the promoter of Ruslan Provodnikov, Artie Pelullo, said that he intends to exercise the rematch clause in the wake of Algieri's split-decision victory on Saturday that dethroned Provodnikov as WBO junior welterweight titleholder at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Provodnikov's chief cornerman, Freddie Roach, who also trains Pacquiao, credited Algieri for "a ballsy fight," although the six-time "Trainer of The Year" believes his man won.

"My fighter, his manager, Vadim Kornilov, and his trainer, Freddie Roach, have asked me to exercise the rematch clause," said Pelullo, CEO of Banner Promotions, who has three options on Algieri.

"If the Manny Pacquiao's not on the table for Chris Algieri, and I don't believe that's going to happen, then, my fighter wants me to do the rematch, and so that's what I'm going to do."

But the 30-year-old Algieri (20-0, 8 knockouts) and DeGuardia have been campaigning for a fight with Pacquiao since the boxer scored the dramatic albeit disputed win over Provodnikov (23-3, 16 KOs), rising from a pair of first-round knockdowns and overcoming a swollen-shut right eye to on HBO.

"They can exercise the rematch clause, but my interpretation is that it doesn't preclude me and our fighter from taking an interim. He's got three options, and one of them can be a rematch, and that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be the first fight," said DeGuardia.

"That just means that at one point in time, so there certainly are a lot of options. I've already begun conversations with Top Rank about Pacquiao, and we'll see where that leads. I think that when all is said and done, marketability-wise, Chris Algieri has proven himself to be a tremendously marketable fighter."

Algieri had an advantage in overall punches (288-to-205) and power shots (177-to-164) and jabs (111-to-41) against Provodnikov, who had scored a pair of knockdowns in the eighth round of a 10th-round stoppage of Mike Alvarado in his previous bout in October.

The win over Alvarado followed Provodnikov's unanimous decision loss to then-WBO welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley during which Provodnikov scored a 12th-round knockdown in a March bout named "2013 Fight of the Year" by THE RING as well as the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Algieri, who stands 5-foot-10 to Provodnikov's 5-6, had correctly expressed confidence that he could duplicate the efforts of Bradley and Mauricio Herrera, the latter whom defeated Provodnikov by unanimous decision in January 2011.

"I think that Chris Algieri has turned himself into a fighter who can cross over and hit a lot of markets that you aren't normally able to hit in boxing, particularly because he showed the heart that he showed. He not only demonstrated that he's a fresh face and that he's got the characteristics that a lot of fighters don't have, but that he can fight, plain and simple," said DeGuardia.

"I am overwhelmed by the responses that we've gotten about how people want to see him again and stuff like that. I'm very, very pleased with the reaction. I've spoken to Top Rank, and the reality is that Bob and Top Rank are a first-class operation, and they're one of the premier organizations in the industry, and I think that their company realizes how big a Pacquiao and Algieri fight can really be and what marketing can take place with a fight like that. There are a lot of different markets that we can hit, and I know that Bob sees that."

LAMONT PETERSON COULD RETURN ON AUG. 9

IBF junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson (32-2-1, 16 KOs) could return to the ring on Aug. 9 against an opponent to determined at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, according to a Tuesday Facebook post by Peterson's publicist, Andre Johnson.

"IBF Junior Welterweight World Champion Lamont Peterson returns to the ring August 9th on Showtime live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY," wrote Johnson. "Details to come..@kingpete26 twitter..@kingpete29 Instagram."

The announcement could land Peterson on the same card as British welterweight Kell Brook in a bout against IBF welterweight titleholder Shawn Porter.In his last fight in January, Peterson scored a one-sided unanimous decision over Dierry Jean that was televised on Showtime from the D.C. Armory in Peterson's hometown of Washington, D.C.

Peterson is 5-1-1 with three knockout victories since falling by unanimous decision to two-division titlewinner Tim Bradley as a 140-pounder in 2009. Prior to facing Jean, Peterson was coming off a non-title bout against Lucas Matthysse, who dropped him three times and stopped him in the third round in May.

Peterson's previous two wins were in D.C., coming by split-decision over Amir Khan and by eighth-round knockout over Kendall Holt.

Robert Byrd was selected as referee, and Dave Moretti, Levi Martinez and Jerry Roth were selected as judges for the July 12 junior middleweight clash between Canelo Alvarez and Erislandy Lara at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Showtime Pay Per View, in accordance with Tuesday's meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The Alvarez-Lara bout is the main event of a tripleheader whose featherweight bout between three-division titlewinner Abner Mares and Jonathan Oquendo will be refereed by Kenny Bayless, and judged by Burt Clements, Adalaide Byrd and Glenn Feldman.

Tony Weeks will referee the junior welterweight matchup between Mauricio Herrera and Johan Perez, who will be judged by Max DeLuca, Glenn Trowbridge and Lisa Giampa, with the junior lightweight bout between ex-beltholder Juan Manuel Lopez and Francisco Vargas being judged by Don Trella, Tim Cheatham and Robert Hoyle, and officiated by Vic Drakulich.

Russell Mora will officiate the bantamweight bout between WBO titleholder Tomoki Kameda of Japan and Pungluang Sor Singyu of Thailand, with the judges being Patricia Morse-Jarman, Dick Houck and Cathy Leonard.

WBC'S MAURICIO SULAIMAN TO MEET WITH IBF, WBA OFFICIALS IN CANCUN

Representatives of the IBF, WBA and WBC will be meeting on Sunday and Monday in Cancun, Mexico, "to discuss and address how we can work better together," according to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.

"The WBA, the IBF and the WBC are having a meeting of the organizations. I sent out a letter and the IBF and the WBA immediately responded very punctually, so we're going to have a very good meeting," said Sulaiman.

"It will be a very enthusiastic group that is trying to address many topics, and we're going to discuss and address how we can work better together. We're going to discuss championship rules, we're going to discuss unifications, we're going to talk about PED's and drug testing, ring officials, scoring systems and a whole variety of things."

WELTERWEIGHT MARCOS ANTONIO HERNANDEZ SIGNS WITH AL HAYMON

Welterweight Marcos Antonio Hernandez (1-0) of Fresno, Calif., has signed with advisor Al Haymon and will fight an opponent to be determined on Saturday's undercard of the tripleheader headlined by the Robert Guerrero-Yoshihiro Kamegai welterweight fight at StubHub in Carson, Calif., according to a release.

A 21-year-old fighter who stands 6-foot-2, Hernandez (1-0) is trained by his father, Joey Hernandez,

"My father and I have been working very hard to make a name for ourselves. My mentor and good friend coach Peter Lopes is the person responsible for getting me seen by Luis Decubas Jr.," said ," said Marcos Hernandez. "That opened the doors to be with Al Haymon. I know with hard work, I can become something special in this sport. I'm looking forward to fighting on Robert Guerrero's undercard this Saturday."